Yankees: 5 first basemen that could start on Opening Day

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 12: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 12, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Michael Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 29: Matt Olson #28 of the Oakland Athletics swings at a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on September 29, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

3. Matt Olson

The Yankees are blessed with a strong farm system that has the talent and depth to leverage in a potential trade. It’s easy to envision a scenario where New York parts with some of its high-end young talent to bring Olson to the Bronx.

He’s not as accomplished as Freeman but he is only set to earn $12 million next season and has one more year of team control before he potentially hits free agency. The tradeoff for the Yankees would be to part with meaningful prospects in exchange for more payroll control.

From an on-field perspective, Olson is just the sort of left-handed power bat that the Yankees lineup is crying out for. His swing is tailor-made for the short porch in Yankee Stadium. He slugged 39 homers for the Athletics this season. It’s not unreasonable to think that the total could rise to around 50 due to the change in ballpark and lineup protection available to Olson in New York.

The question Cashman must answer is whether or not the upgrade Olson can provide at first is worth the prospective cost. The Athletics’ likely insistence that Oswald Peraza be included in any deal may cause Cashman to cool on the idea of adding Olson this offseason.

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